AWS CSAA - Exam Study Regime

I’ve received numerous inquiries on how I prepared for my AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate, Exam. Here is a summary of my personal journey, and how you can do it too!

1. Complete some sort of supplementary course WITH hands on. This is important, never skip any hands on lessons. This could be Stephane Maarek’s course (recommended), acloudguru, LinuxAcademy - etc. You can find these on Udemy, or their respective website. Here is what I completed. https://www.udemy.com/course/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-saa-c01/

(Additional study info here) Kudos and Credit to Jon Bonso for this awesome bit of material. Take a peek. There is definitely enough in here to overwhelm you at first, take it slow and review it piece by piece as you go through the next step. It will all come together. https://tutorialsdojo.com/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate/

2. The practice exams, again by Jon Bonso, are PRICELESS. . There are 6 exams, 65 questions each - all emulating the test. Take these tests - at least twice. Don’t get discouraged, a 70% is normal your first go around. There are explanations and links to white papers after every single question. Read these explanations closely. Read the cheat sheets. Read the white papers. . Now retake the practice exams. Your second go around, you should be able to clear 90-95%+ on these exams! Once you’ve done that - you know you’re in a good spot. Here is a link to those exams. https://www.udemy.com/course/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-amazon-practice-exams/

A few extra tips. Take these practice exams in full screen mode to really emulate the test. Resist your urge to Google the right answers. You really want to test how much you’ve actually “retained”. Google is great for a few things here and there, but you shouldn’t be looking up answers on there. The answers should come from your brain. 😊 

On the actual exam - 

-Read the wording closely, paying attention to keywords like “cost effective” or “fully managed”, etc. They’ll sneak particular words in there.

-Eliminating the wrong answers is just as helpful as deducing the correct ones. Use process of elimination, some options are very obviously wrong.

-There were a few questions on AWS PrivateLink (and I hear AWS Inspector and AWS Config possibly popping up) that caught me off guard. I would peek at that. I also wouldn’t be surprised to see the aforementioned resources updated with this information.

-Don’t worry about the time. You’ll have plenty of it. Flag any question for review and go back and visit it later. I had a solid 30 minutes left when I submitted my test. 

All that being said, I don’t have a million years of AWS professional experience, but I’ve been developing full stack for nearly 10 years - I scored an 895 out 1000. I think I missed 6 questions is all. So I felt very prepared. 

Personally, I took the test in the morning and went on a brisk run beforehand. This way I wasn’t exhausted from the day, and felt refreshed.

You will feel SO good once you pass. I believe in you. We’re all in this together. 

Message me if you have any specific questions! I’d love to help.

Ryan